Bottle washer



Sept. 24, 1963 P. K. GIRTON 3,104,670

BOTTLE WASHER Filed March 7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheena@i l M W if 3- fluffy@ Sept. 24, 1963 P. K. GlRToN 3,104,670

BOTTLE WASHER Filed March 7, 1961 2 sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

fu fapwgm United States Patent() 3,104,670 BOTTLE WASHER Paul K. Girton, Millvilie, Pa., assigner to Girton Manufacturing Company, Inc., Millville, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Fiied Mar. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 94,048 Claims. (Cl. 13a- 74) This invention pertains to improvements in 'apparat-us :for washing bottles. More specilically stated, this invention relates to improvements in :automaticapparatus for washing rigid bottles, such as glass bottles, wherein the bottles are moved in sequence through a series of bottle cleaning stations within the washing apparatus while loosely confined in bottle carriers or pockets.

This invention also pertains to improvements in the construction of the individual carriers or pockets |for the bottles and the arrangement of such carriers or pockets within the bottle washing Iapparatus.

The invention will, without desire of limitation, be described with respect Ito its preferred embodiment in an automatic bottle washing apparatus of the soaker-type for washing various sizes of milk bottles, such as, 'for eX- ample, glass milk bottles.

Apparatus of the .type contemplated by this invention is frequently used in bottle handling plants, such las dairies, where it becomes necessary to wash large numbers of bottles of difieren-t coniigur-ations and of various sizes, for example, square or round half pint bottles of the type sometimes used for the bottling oi cream, and round or rectangular half gallon bottles ofthe type sometimes used for the bottling of milk. Although, in many instances such bottles of difieren-t sizes and body shapes Imay have the same size of mouth and cap seat for receiving the so-called plug-cap or hood-cap, the outer surface of the bead around the mouth of such a bottle may vary in conguration with respect to similar parts of other bottles. Similarly, some bottles are provided with the so-called wash ring on the outer periphery of the neck of the bottle close lto the mouth of the bottle. Similarly, many of such bottles vary greatly in transverse cross section, from round to substantially square to substantially rectangular. A -very common type of half gallon bottle, when erectly disposed, has an elongated and substantially rectangular transverse cross section, the maximum diagonal `dimension of which is somewhat less than the over all height of common forms of half pint bottles.

Some of the common forms of bottle washing apparatus ofthe soaker-type, wherein the bottles :are loosely retained in bottle carriers or bottle pockets while traveling through the cleaning stations in the washing apparatus, are provided -in order with a loadin-g station, a pre-rinse station, a soaking station, a draining station, one or more rinsing stations, a sterilizing station, a final draining station, and an unloading station. The width of such apparatus is usually determine-d primarily by the maxi-mum size and spacing of the bottle pockets which are usually arranged in transverse rows on spaced conveyer chains adapted, in a step by step motion, to move the thus supported pockets through the different cleaning stations and to and from loading and unloading stations of the apparatus. The length of such apparatus is determined primarily by the desired interval of travel of the thus supported bottle pockets Iand the carried bottles through the bottle soaking station of the .apparatus and the necessary spacing between the various other cleaning stations. Obviously, the cost of the apparatus has a close relation to the over all size thereof, making it desirable, for the purpose of economy, to use the minimum size of bottle pockets consistent with effective lwashing operation `and eflcient construction. Similarly, `and for the same reason, it is 'desirlhd@ Patented Sept. 24, 1963 ice able to use the minimum number of kinds of bottle pockets irrespective of the fact that various different types of bottles are to be washed in the apparatus, and to use only one washing machine, if possible.

In the operation of the general type -of apparatus to which this invention pertains, the bottles to be washed are normally inserted into the pockets of the bottle washer while the neck portions of the bottle pockets are in a slightly Idownwardly directed position with the open mouths of the carried bottles directed downwardly to facilitate the loading of thev bottles into the pockets and to facilitate the ldischarge of any remaining contents from the bottles as 4the bottles Iare further inverted while traveling through a pre-rinse station of the washing apparatus. After passing through the pre-rinse station, the bottle pockets are so moved or partially rotated as to norm-ally tend to place the bottles in. an upright or erect position for submersion in and intermittent movement through a soaking station in the lower portion of the washing apparatus. Thereafter, the bottle pockets are again partially rotate-d or moved while traveling through a draining station so as to completely invert the carried bottles by the time the bottles reach the rinsing station or stations in the upper portion of the washing apparatus.

While the bottles travel through .the soaking station, submerged Iin the hot soaking solution confined in the lower portion et the washing apparatus, the bottles .are upright, with the base. portions of the bottles sliding along/the bottom wall of the ywashing apparatus or sliding along skid bars or slide elements provided immediately below the path of -travel of the respective bottle pockets. Under such circumstances a carried bottle is intermittently Vurged in one direction by the biasing enga-gement against one side of the bottle of a portion of the retaining bottle pockets. While the bottle is thus intermittently being urged in one direction by the bottle pocket, the base of the bottle is resting upon `and frictionally engaged by either the mentioned slide strip or .the lower wall of the apparatus, thereby tending to tilt the bottles. Large bottles, due to their relative size with respect to the size of the retaining pocket, will no-t tilt. pushing thereof by the pocket Iand the drag on the bottom of the bottle, will tend to become upset or tilted and to assume .a semi-reclining position Within the lower portion of the retaining pocket. The continued dragging of the bottom of the tilted bottle on the slide strip, land the expansion `of the metal bottle pocket as it passes through the hot soaking solution inthe Washing apparatus, tend to produ-ce land permit a wedging action whereby a small and tilted bottle becomes wedged between 4opposite portions of the rela-tively lar-ge lower section of the bottle pocket by which the bottle is being moved.

Upon theremoval of the pocket and the wedged bottle from the soaking solution and the subsequent cooling of Vthe pocket and the resultant contraction of lthe pocket, for

example, a steel pocket, the tilted and wedged bottle becomes more tightly wedged :or gripped in the before mentioned tilted position within the carrier pocket. As thus tilted the mouth of the bottle will be out of required alignment with the spray nozzles at the rinsing and sterilizing stations when it subsequently arrives at those sta- However, small bottles, due to the the lower portion of the washing machine in erect position or in an inclined position.

After completing the soaking treatment, the bottle pockets 7 and the carried bottles are partially inverted by a suitable turn of the conveyer chains 10, so as to dispose the carried bottles, iirst in a substantially horizontal position and then in a downwardly directed or partially inverted position, whereby to empty the hot soaking solution from the bottles. Thereafter the bottles are further inverted into a mouth-down vertical position and moved in a continuing step-by-step manner through a series of spray rinsing and sterilizing treatments. At each station for such spray rinsing and sterilizing treatments, the mouth of each of such vertically disposed bottles is positioned at or near the neck end of the pocket 7 and is centered in the lowermost portion of the pocket over a spray nozzle 36, for spraying the desired rinsing fluid or sterilizing iluid into the interior of the bottle through the downwardly directed mouth thereof.

Upon the completion of the spray washing treatments in the upper portion of housing 3, the washed bottles are then partially inverted by a suitable turn of the conveyer chains 10, and moved to a discharge station where the washed bottles are ejected from the pockets 7 by reciprocating ejector arms 14. Ejector arms 14 are actuated by linkage 15 powered by drive 5.

The washed bottles are ejected by arms i4 from pockets 7, in each instance, by the forward reciprocating movement of an `ejector arm 14 through an aperture in the neck end of the aligned pocket 7. As the arm 14 extends into the pocket 7, it engages the mouth portion of a carried bottle and pushes the thus engaged bottle out of the pocket 7 through the large open end of the pocket 7 and deposits the ejected bottle upon an oscillating unloading table 16. Table 16' is oscillated by linkage i7 powered by drive 5. The unloading table 16 deposits the washed bottles upon a discharge conveyor 18 for movement of the bottles to any desired operating station.

Some bottle washing machines are constructed to handle only one size of bottles. in such instances the bottle carrying pockets are designed to r'it the selected size of bottle, thereby assuring the proper alignment of the bottle with the various washing and rinsing sprays, the retention of the bottles in proper position within the pockets, the proper positioning and guiding of the bottles in the pockets at the loading station, the proper alignment of the bottles with the ejection mechanism at the unloading station, and the proper guiding of the bottle during ejection thereof onto the unloading table. However, when a bottle carrying pocket is designed to handle bottles of varying sizes, including bottles substantially as large as the pocket as Well as bottles which are relatively small compared to the size of the pocket, and when it is desired to use the same pocket to assure proper alignment or centering of the bottles of varying sizes with the various spray washing and rinsing jets and with the ejector arms, to prevent jamming of small bottles during the ejection operation and to prevent wedging of the small bottles in the relatively large pockets during the washing operations, and to assure alignment of the bottles with the pockets during the loading operations, various provision must be included in such pockets to assure such trouble-free operation, including the avoidance of the mentioned jamming and wedging of the small bottles in the bottle pockets and the proper guiding of the smaller bottles.

According to the present invention, when a bottle of small size is introduced into the open end of a downwardly inclined pocket 7 at the loading station, for descent, under the influence of gravity, into the reduced neck portion of the pocket 7, the lbottle is deposited into the longitudinally extending trough-like formation comprised of two of the adjacent lower sides of the thus disposed pocket and the bott-le is thus guided into the centering neck of the pocket 7, thereby preventing such small bottle from becoming lodged in a crosswise position in the large portion of the bottle pocket.

At the discharge station, at which the pocket 7 has again assumed substantially the same downwardly inclined disposition as assumed by the pocket at the loading station, i.e. downwardly tilted with the open end uppermost or at least slightly elevated with respect to the reduced neck end of the pocket, the small bottle supported in the restricted neck portion of the pocket 7 wili, during the ejection operation, be urged into the mentioned trough-like formation of the pocket which trough-like formation is aligned with the path of movement of the ejector arm 14, whereby the small bottle is maintained in alignment with the ejector arm 14 during the bottle ejection operation to prevent the bottle from moving to one or the other side of the ejector arm and thus prevent the jamming of the bottle inside of the pocket during the ejection operation.

The improved pocket 7, possessing the described novel operating features is comprised of five side walls 19, Z0, 2l, 22 and 23. The parallel walls 2G and 23 extend from and are perpendicular to the large, flat wall 19. The two narrow walls 21 and 22 complete the enclosure and both are similarly disposed with respect to the plane of wall 19 and are joined by a rounded corner 24 directly opposite and parallel to the vertical center line of wall 19. The remaining corners Z5, 26, 27 and 28 of the five sided pocket are each rounded. The lower portions 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 of the five side walls 19, 20, 21, 22 and 2.3 of the improved pocket 7 form a neck portion for pocket 7 and are inclined inwardly toward the lower end wall or neck end closure 34 for the pocket 7. The inclined walls 29-33 comprise a centering neck for centering the mouth portion of a carried bottle over the end closure 34 when the pocket 7 is disposed with the closure end 34 in a lowerrnost position. ySlot 35 is formed centrally in wall portion 29 and extends between wall portions 31 and 32 and also extends centrally through the neck end closure portion 34. Slot 35 comprises an aperture in the otherwise closed neck end of the pocket 7, over which aperture the mouth of an inverted bottle carried in the pocket, is centered. The ejector arm i4 and the various uid sprays and rinses ent-er the neck end of pocket 7 through slot 35. The relative position, at the bottle loading and bottle unloading station, of the trough-like bottle guiding formation in the respective pockets 7, formed by walls 21 and 2,2 and corner 24, is illustrated in FIGURE 3. The alignment of the slots 35 of the respective pockets 7 with the spray nozzle 36 is shown in FlGURE 4. The mentioned trough-like formation is aligned with the slot 35 of the respective pocket 7 and the apex of the trough is in the plane of the path of movement of ejector arm 14 at the bottle unloading station and is directed downwardly at the bott-le loading station.

During the washing operation, while the bottles are moved from a mouth-down tilted position, as illustrated at the pre-rinse station, to 1a mouth-up or erect position, as yassumed by the bottles at the commencement of the soaking treatment in the lower portion' of the washer housing 3, the bottles .become -lled with soaking solution and settle by gravity tonto the bottle slides 13, with the bottom of each bottle extending slightly out of the large open end of the respective carrying .pocket 7. As thus disposed, the bottles are intermittently moved, in a sliding action, by pocket 7, along the slides 13. During such step-by-step movement, the small bottles move relatively Within pocket 7 from the then leading trough-shaped portion of the pocket into a position abutting the at rear wall section 19 of pocket 7. lAs the intermittent forward movement of the pocket 7 continues, the force to move the bottle is applied to the side of vthe bottle -by pocket Wall 19 while the bottom ofthe bottle drags along the slide bar 13. During such slid-ing movement, some of the small bottles t-ip or fall forwardly with the mouth por- .27 tion ofthe bottle beco-ming wedged against or into one or the other of the `corners 24, 26 or 27 if the pocket is not provided with improvements according to the present invent'ion. One position commonly assumed by such a small tilted bottle is .a diagonal position wherein the base v of the bottle is located, for example, adjacent corner and the mouth end of the bottle which, as shown in FrG- URES 7 and ll, is conventionally provided with an annular bead around the mouth of the bottle, is located adjacent corner Z7. Such tilted arrangement is illustrated in FIGURES 3, 7 :and ll. After a small bottle has become thus tilted, the dragging of the lowermost corner or edge of the base of the bottle on the slide bar i3, and the fulcrum action resulting from the engagement of the opposite corner or edge of the base of the bottle with the wall 19 of pocket '7, increases the wedging action' oi the mouth of .the thus tilted lbottle against the oppositely disposed portion of the pocket 7, thereby iixing the small bottle in the assumed tilted position in the pocket. As the tilted Ibottle land the pocket are heated during the protracted soaking operation, the steel'pocket 7 has a `greater expansion than' does the tilted glass lbottle, thereby permitting the maximum tilt of the bottle within the heated pocket 7. Upon the movement of the pocket '7 and the carried and tilted bottle from the soak solution during the washing treatment, the pocket and the bottle are cooled and the contraction of the steel pocket 7 is greater than the contraction of the glass bottle, whereupon the wedge bottle becomes more tiglhtly wedged in its tilted position within the pocket 7, As thus wedged in tilted position with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pocket, the

tilted bottle cannot be properly rinsed and sterilized during subsequent rinsing and sterilizing treatments and cannot, in most instances, be ejected by the ejectors 1d without Ibreakage of the thus wedged bottle.

To overcome such diculties resulting from the mentioned possible wedging of small bottles within the pocket 7, the pocket 7 is provided with hollow protuberances 37 and 38 formed respectively in the corner portions 26 and 27 and the adjacent portions of the pocket walls Zl, 2B., 22 and 23. A hollow protuberance 39 is also formed in the pocket corner 24 and the adjacent portions of the pocket walls 21 and 22. The hollow and outwardly extending protuberances 37, 38 and 39 are positioned nearer to the open end than to the neck end of pocket 7 and are located in la common horizontal plane -wlien viewing the pocket 7 Iin elevation as shown in FGURE 9. As shown in FIGURE 6, protuberances 37, 3S and 39 also function v las aligning means for aligning and positioning the pockets 7 in proper position on the pocket support bar The protuberances 37, 33 and 39 are located in the path or locus of movementothe mouth portion of a small bottle, such as a half pint bottle, and when tilted within pocket 7, While resting upon the slide bar 13, as shown in FIGURE l1, during the 'movement of the bottle pocke 7 and Athe carried -bottle through the lower portion of the washer housing 3. FiGURE ll also illustrates the position assumed by -a half igallon bottle housed in a pocket 7 while being moved through the lower portion of the Washer housing 3.

The configuration of the protuberanees 37, 3S and 39 may, if desired, be multi-sided, or it may be of a generally Vrounded coniiguration. In each instance the protuberances 37, 38 and 39 are of such depth, with respect lto the underlying or immediately ladjacent surfaces of vthe pocket 7 as to permit part` of the mouth portion of a of the bead around the mouth of the bottle engaging the inner surface of a protuberance or engaging the adjacent edge of the wall of the pocket, and by virtue of the fact that the upper side of the mouth of the `bottle extends out of the protuberance land into the main portion of the interior of the pocket 7, and by` virtue of the fact that the axially outermost en-d of the mouth of the bottle does not engage the inner surface of the protuberance.

From the foregoing description of this invention and from the accompanying drawings, it will be app-arent that this invention realizes the introductorily enumerated objectives respecting the improved bottle washer. It will similarly be apparent that the invention possesses the hereinbefore listed advantages and provides new, novel and useful improvements in a bottle washer.

Having thus described and illustrated the preferred embodiments `of this invention, the invention is not to be interpreted as being restricted to the specifically illustrated and described embodiments, 'as set forth in the drawings and as hereinbefore described, excepty insofar t as is necessitated by the appended claims and the discloretainer means being substantially equal to the maximum" longitudinal dimension `of the largest size receptacle to be moved thereby and the maximum transverse dimension of said retainer means being of such relative proportion with respect to the maximum longitudinal dimension of the smallest size receptacle to be moved thereby whereby to per-mit said smallest receptacle to be moved thereby to assume a partially reclining position ywithin said retainer means when said retainer means is erectly disposed with the open end thereof `directed downwardiy, conveyer f means carrying said retainer means and adapted during part of the conveying movement to move said retainer means in a substantially erect position and along a path overlying receptacle support means with the open end of said retainer means directed downwardly and defining the lower end thereof, receptacle support means `for slidingl-y and supportiugly engaging a receptacle moved thereover by said retainer means when said retainer means is erectlyL disposed, said support means underlying the path of travel of said retainer means and Ibeing spaced from the open end of said retainer means by a distance which is rela-V tively small compared to the longitudinal dimensions and as compared to the transverse `dimensions of a receptacle being moved by said retainer meanswhereby to retain the receptacle thus being moved confined within said retainer means, said retainer means having at least one outwardly directed and hollow and lgenerally rounded prot-uberance in portions of the side fwalls of said retainer means which portions comprise at least part of the locus of engagement `between said retainer means and the mouth end of the smallest size receptacle conned therein when said smallest size receptacle is supported in a partially reclining position upon said support means, the inner surface of said protu-berance and the areas of juncture between said protuberance and the side Walls of said retainer means being soY constructed and so arranged as to receive only part o the Y mouth end of the receptacle and to be lfree of engagement v with the portion of the receptacle defining the open mouth end oi the receptacle and to supportingly engage the receptacle only on the side `of the receptacle adjacent the mouth end of the receptacle and so as to permit tree movet ment of the adjacent surface of 4tlie partially reclining receptacle into and out of said protuberance.

2. A bottle washing machine, comprising, in combination, a housing having -a reservoir portion adapted tobe lled with cleaning iluid having a temperature which is relatively high compared to room temperature, elongated bottle pocket means having an open end and adapted for moving a variety of sizes of elongated bottles each having an open mouth end, conveyer means for moving said pocket means along a predetermined path within said housing from a loading station at which the temperature is relatively low compared to the temperature within said reservoir portion and thence through said reservoir portion with the open end of said pocket means directed downwardly and thence to an unloading station at which the temperature is relatively low compared to the temperature within said reservoir portion, hottle support means underlying the path ot travel of said pocket means through said reservoir means and spaced from the open end of said pocket means a distance which is relatively small compared to the length of the shortest bottle to he moved by said pocket means, the maximum longitudinal dimension of the shortest bottle to be thus moved being greater than the maximum transverse dimension of said pocket means in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said pocket means and the maximum transverse dimension of such shortest @bottle being relatively small compared to the maximum transverse dimension of said pocket means at the open end of said pocket means, whereby the bottle being moved is ad-apted during a portion of such movement to descend under the influence of gravity onto the said |bottle support means :and to assume a sliding engagement ibet-ween the lower portion of such bottle and said support means while such |bottle is heing moved through a portion of said reservoir, actuating cans for intermittently moving said conveyer means thereby tilting at least some of such shortest ybottles into a reclining position in the lower portions of said pocket means while such shortest bottles are in sliding engagement with said lbottle support means, and hollow and Ygenerally rounded protuberance means in the wall of said pocket means and `opening into said pocket means for loosely receiving only a portion of the open mouth end of a tilted bottle while disposed in said reclining position, the mouth end of a tilted bottle being supportingly engaged only on the side thereof for free axial movement of the tilted `bottle and the portion of a tilted bottle dening the mouth of the bottle being free of engager ent with said prot-uberance means and free of engagement with the wall portions of said pocket means, whereby to preclude the wedging of the tilted bottle in said pocket means.

3. A hottle handling machine, comprising, in combination, conveyer means, elongated individual hottie carrier means having a longitudinal axis and having Vwall means and adapted to -be conveyed hy said conveyer means and adapted to move elongated hottle means having neck ends and 'being of -a variety of sizes along a predetermined path, said conveyer means being `adapted to convey said carrier means along a portion of said path while said carrier means is erectly disposed and during which movement bottle means of a small size compared to the size of said carrier means and while being moved by said carrier means is free to assume a position within said carrier means of substantial inclination with respect to the 1ongitudinal axis of said carrier means, and a hollow and outwardly directed and :generally rounded protuberance in a portion of the wall means of said carrier means, said protuberance being so constructed and arranged that the portion of the thus inclined bottle means which is tfarthest removed from the longitudinal axis of said pocket means Y and which comprises only part of the neck end of said bottle means may freely move axially of said bottle within said protuberance while the remainder of the neck end ot said 'bottle means remains outside of said protuberance but within said carrier means and while the -neck end of said bottle means is supportingly engaged only on 4a side thereof.

4. An elongated bottle pocket having ta longitudinal axis and adapted for use in moving elongated Ibottles of a i@ variety of sizes, said .pocket including a plurality of elongated at wall portions parallel to said longitudinal axis and defining the sides of said pocket and also delining a multi-sided opening at one end of said pocket, said opening lying in a plane perpendicular to said longitudinal axis and having a maximum diagonal dimension less than the maximum dimension of the smallest bottle to |be moved by said pocket and having a minimum transverse dimension substantially greater than the maximum transverse ydimension of the smallest bottle to be moved by said pocket, whereby the smallest bottle to he moved by said pocket may assu-me within said pocket a position inclined with respect to said longitudinal axis of said pocket with the opposite ends of such smallest Ibottle engaging oppositely positioned wall portions of said pocket, and hollow and outwardly extending protuberance means integrally formed with wall portions of said pocket 4and opening into said pocket at the locus of engagement of the pocket with one end of the thus inclined bottle within said pocket, said protufberance means Abeing generally rounded and being of such a depth perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said pocket and the opening said protuberance means into said pocket being of such dimension and said protuberance' means being so constructed and arranged so as to adapt said protuberance means to receive only part of the adjacent end of the thus inclined bottle for tree axial movemeans being so constructed and arranged so as to adapt ment within said protuberance means while the remaining portion of said adjacent end of the thus inclined bottle remains within said pocket inwardly of said-protubera-nce mea-ns and while the neck end of said bottle means is supported only on one side thereof.

5. A hollow carrier rior a bottle, said carrier having wall means defining a pocket open at one end and having a restricted neck portion at the opposite end and having a longitudinal axis, said carrier heing adapted to carry a variety `of sizes of elongated bottles each having an open mouth at one end thereof, said wall means also deiining an elongated shallow and inwardly opening trough in said carrier, said trough heing parallel to said longitudinal axis, and a plurality of hollow and generally rounded protuberance means formed -in and comprising part of said wall means and opening into said pocket and disposed on opposite sides of said trough, each of said protuberance means being so `constructed and arranged so that it is adapted to ifreely receive only a portion of the mouth of a bottle of small size compared to the size of said pocket when said tbottle of small size is carried in said carrier with the longitudinal axis of said bottle of small size disposedat an angle to the longitudinal axis of said pocket, the remaining portion of the mouth of said ibottle remaining in said carrier inwardly of said protuberance and said bottle lbeing supported by said carrier only on one side at the neck end of said bottle and being lfree to move axially with respect to the longitudinal axis yof said bottle.

6. A substantially rigid bottle pocket having wall portion means and having a longitudinal axis and adapted for use in moving bottle means of a variety of sizes each said bottle means havin-g an open mouth end, said pocket having its transverse dimension adjacent one end thereof, :and an outwardly directed and hollow and generally rounded protuberance in the wall portion means of said pocket and spaced from said one end of said pocket, said protuherance -being so constructed and arranged that only a portion of the month end of a bottle which is of small size compared to the size of said pocket may he freely moved axially into and out of said protuberance when such bottle is tilted with respect to said longitudinal yaxis `of said pocket and into alignment with said protuherance, the remaining portion of the mouth end of said lbottle, when tilted being positioned within said pocket inwardly of said protuberance and the neck end of said 7. A walled bottle pocket having a longitudinal axis and adapted for use in individually moving bottles each having a beaded open Imouth at one end thereof and varying in size from half pint lbottles tolhalf gallon bottles, said pocket adjacent one end thereof having transverse dimensions suiciently great to permit a half pint bottle to assume an inclined position wtih respect to the lon4 gitudinal axis of said pocket and to retain such inclined position as a result 1of the action of -gravity when said pocket is disposed in a predetermined position, and an outwardly directed and generally rounded and hollow protuberance opening into the Wall of said pocket and into and out of which protuberance only a portion of the adjacent beaded open mouth end of a thus inclined half pint bottle may be freely moved axially of the bottle, the remaining portion of said open mouth end of the thus inclined half pint bottle being positioned within said pocket inwardly of said protuherance and out of contact with said pocket, the end of said bottle having the open mouth being supported against the action of gravity hy engagement of the underside of that open mouth end of thc bottle with said pocket.

8. An elongated bottle pocket having wall means and having a longitudinal axis and adapted for use in individually moving bottles each having an open mouth at one end thereof and varying in sizes, said pocket Iadjacent one end thereof having transverse dimensions sufficiently great to permit the smallest size bottle to be moved hy said pocket to assume an inclined positionwithin said pocket with respect to the longitudinal axis of said pocket and to retain such inclined position :as a result of the action of gravity when said pocket is disposed in a predetermined position, and an outwardly directed and generally rounded and hollow protuherance portion comprising part of said wall means of said pocket and into and out of which protuberance portion only a portion `of the adjacent open mouth end of a thus inclined fhottle may he freely moved axially of the lbottle, the remaining portion of the open mouth end of the thus inclined `hottie ibeing positioned within said pocket inwardly of said protuberance portion and out of contact with the remainder of said pocket, the end of said bottle having the open mouth being adapted to being supported against tie action of gravity by said pocket only when there is ongagement'of that end of the hottie having the open mouth with the pocket on the side at the end of said bottle opposite that portion of the open mouth end of the bottle which is positioned within said pocket inwardly ot said protuoerance portion.

9. A tubular bottle carrier means having wall means defining an elongated pocket for carrying open mouth bottles of a variety of sizes, each of said hott-les having an annular bead formed around the mouth, said pocket having one open end and having a restricted portion at the opposite end yfor receiving the neck portion of a carried bottle, and hollow and outwardly directed and lgenerally rounded protuberance means in the wall means of said carrier means, said protu-herance means opening into said pocket and being located in spaced relationship to said restricted end and to said `open end, said protuberance means being so constructed and arranged and being of such relative dimensions and proportions compared to the dimensions and proportions of theV pocket so that the protu'berance means is adapted to freely receive only a portion of the beaded mouth end of a small bottle carried in said carrier means and to provide engagement between the pocket structure and the ybeaded mouth end of the bottle only along the downwardly directed portion of the outermost periphery of the annular head about the mouth of the bottle while the bottle continues to be shiftable axially of the 'bottle and while lthe extreme end of the bottle which defines the mouth opening of the bottle is free or" engagement with any portion of the pocket and the protuberance means.

l0. A bottle washer adapted to wash elongated bottles of a variety of sizes, comprising, in combination, a housing, a reservoir in said housing, conveyor guide means within said housing, parallel conveyer chains slidahly mounted on said guide means, elongated -bottle pocket means having Wall means and having an open end and having a hollow interior, hollow prot-uherance means formed in said wall means and opening into the interior of said pocket means and uniformly spaced from the open end of said pocket means, and pocket support means secured tosaid wall means and abutting against at least some of said prot-uberance means in aligning relation and carried by said conveyor chains for moving said pocket means talon-g a predetermined path of travel within said Y reservoir with the open end of said pocket means'directed downwardly and supported in uniformly spaced relation to hottie support surface means underlying the path of travel of the open end of said pocket means within said reservoir, said open end of said pocket means rwhile said pocket means is being moved Within said reservoir being spaced from said support surface means a distance which is substantially less than the minimum dimension `of said open end of said pocket means, whereby a bottle of small size compared to the size of the interior of saidpocket means and having a base end and having a neck end may assume a tilted position within said pocket means with a portion of the hase end of said bottle extending out of the open end of said pocket means and slidingly engaging said bottle support surface means and only :t portion of the neck end of said 1oottle extending into an aligned and genthe neck end of said bottle and any engaged portions of said hollow protubera-nce and said wall means, the romain- Y ing portionof the neck end of said bottle being positioned within said pocket means inwardly of said protuoerance means and out of contact with sai-d pocket and comprising the upper portion of the neck end of said bottle.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS 2,774,361 Ladewig Dec. 18, 1956 42,804,966 McCabe Sept. 3, 1957 2,878,920 Mar. 24, 1959 2,912,096 Welliver Nov. 10, i959 

3. A BOTTLE HANDLING MACHINE, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, CONVEYER MEANS, ELONGATED INDIVIDUAL BOTTLE CARRIER MEANS HAVING A LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND HAVING WALL MEANS AND ADAPTED TO BE CONVEYED BY SAID CONVEYER MEANS AND ADAPTED TO MOVE ELONGATED BOTTLE MEANS HAVING NECK ENDS AND BEING OF A VARIETY OF SIZES ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, SAID CONVEYER MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO CONVEY SAID CARRIER MEANS ALONG A PORTION OF SAID PATH WHILE SAID CARRIER MEANS IS ERECTLY DISPOSED AND DURING WHICH MOVEMENT BOTTLE MEANS OF A SMALL SIZE COMPARED TO THE SIZE OF SAID CARRIER MEANS AND WHILE BEING MOVED BY SAID CARRIER MEANS IS FREE TO ASSUME A POSITION WITHIN SAID CARRIER MEANS OF SUBSTANTIAL INCLINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID CARRIER MEANS, AND A HOLLOW AND OUTWARDLY DIRECTED AND GENERALLY ROUNDED PROTUBERANCE IN A PORTION OF THE WALL MEANS OF SAID CARRIER MEANS, SAID 